A drug dealer who claimed he had been trafficked to the UK and locked in a cannabis factory faces deportation after photographs showed him getting engaged, on a stag do and at his girlfriend's graduation ceremony.
Igli Hazizaj said he feared for his life if he was sent back to his native Albania because of a debt his family owed to an organised crime gang. But his story collapsed when his former girlfriend provided pictures from her social media of him proposing to her in Manchester, on a bachelor party in Wales and celebrating her graduation in Swansea.
A judge at Manchester's Civil Justice Centre has now ordered the 28-year-old to be sent back to his native Albania after ruling he had 'fabricated his whole account'.
Conviction and Deportation Order
In February 2025 Hazizaj was jailed for two years after being convicted of conspiracy to produce cannabis. Carlisle Crown Court heard he was the 'prime mover' in an operation which saw three houses in the city converted into cannabis farms with the potential to make more than £2m a year.
In December last year it was ordered that Hazizaj be deported. But he appealed against the ruling, telling a tribunal hearing in Manchester he had been trafficked to the UK and forced to work in cannabis farms after his father fell into debt with a local gang. Hazizaj said he was at 'real risk of serious harm in Albania'.
Home Office Disputes and Evidence
The Home Office disputed his claims. It pointed to 'numerous inconsistencies' in his story, including flight records which showed him travelling to and from Albania at times he claimed to have been 'held captive'.
His former partner also provided social media screenshots 'detailing their relationship' throughout 2024, including photographs from the stag do, graduation and of the couple getting engaged. The tribunal heard Hazizaj is due to be extradited to Albania as he has been sentenced to nine months' imprisonment after being caught trying to board a flight from Tirana to Barcelona with a forged Greek passport.
At the time of the hearing he was also on bail in the UK for further undisclosed charges and was due to appear before Central London magistrates' court on November 14.
Judge's Ruling
Rejecting his appeal, Judge Chris Cole concluded Hazizaj had 'fabricated his whole account'. He added: "I find that the appellant has failed to prove that his account of events is reasonably likely to be true.
"I do not accept that it is reasonably likely that the appellant was trafficked to the UK and forced to work in cannabis farms. The appellant's history of travel, his access to forged identity documents, and his lifestyle in the UK indicate that he was not a victim of trafficking."
Hazizaj failed to attend the hearing on October 28. Efforts to trace him through his ex-partner and the law firm formerly representing him were unsuccessful, the court heard.
